Mumbai: The SENSEX opened moderately better but later turned weak in line with a downward turn in key stocks at early stages on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on February 26 on fresh selling pressure from investors.

The BSE sensitive index opened on a promising note at 3,291.07 as against February 25 close of 3,281.92 and later moved in a small range between 3,292.69 and 3,273.78 before being quoted at 3,273.78 at 10.30 am (IST).

Attributing the higher start to a smart rally on Wall Street on February 25 night, brokers said domestic investors as well as foreign funds seemed to be unwilling to any fresh commitments ahead of the Budget.

Investors would like to be more cautious this time since any tax proposal in Budget can result in losses to them, brokers added.

Heavyweighted counters like HLL, RIL, SBI and Tisco were quoted substantially lower due to selling pressure.

PTI